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Dwarves
, | worker = | worker_output = | rebel = | pop_growth = '-20 people' per turn. | standard_units = | racial_units = | restrictions = Available: Available on Shore: Not Available: }} The Dwarf race is one of the 14 different humanoid Races found in the world of Master of Magic. Dwarves originate from the plane of Myrror. Dwarves are a very productive race, producing 50% more than most other races. They are only equaled in production by the Klackons. Another bonus for the Dwarves is that they receive double taxes and specials from mining, making up for their inability to build Banks and higher revenue generating buildings. Description Physical Features Dwarves are a demi-human race, shorter than men but broad, bearded, and muscular. Dwarves possess physical strength and presence to match any full-sized creature, and with their terrific constitution, will not succumb easily to wounds or ill magic. Dwarves have bright eyes, craggy features, and a ruddy complexion, and even dwarven women sport facial hair. Unlike their fellow diminutive race on Arcanus, the Halflings, Dwarves possess a grim nature, hardened but undefeated by endless toil and war on Myrror. Society Dwarven society is monarchial: Towns comprise a single named clan with many bloodlines, ruled by a direct descendant of the clan's founder. The Dwarves are fiercely devoted to their kin, traditions, and the dwarven race as a whole and its way of life. They hold private property and civil/military service sacred, and are repulsed by crimes and corruption perpetrated against a fellow dwarf or trusted ally. Dwarves are, in truth, the only residents on Myrror with a defined sense of right and wrong and a social structure designed to protect individuals and foster general excellence. They will never ingratiate themselves to an evil Myrran banner race. Any Myrran power captured by Dwarves is likewise fated to fall into neglect and disorder, owing to the dwarf clans' disinterest in anything non-dwarven. The clans scorn soft sciences and argue, through the quality of their lives and handiwork, that a tradition of service and a focus on practical ingenuity are all their society needs. Dwarf Workers incorporate replaceable part assemblies, alchemical metallurgy, and steam pressurization, among other technologies not seen anywhere else in the realms. Dwarves are most at-home in mountain fortresses on Myrror, where they can dredge up stupendous mineral wealth from the planet crust. Their skill with heavy machinery and close-quarters combat enable the Dwarves to survive and even prosper in this environment. Dwarven Farmers produce meat and a few cereal grains for bread and beer, but members of this race dislike the open range and are far more effective as Workers. Army Dwarves in the military arm of a clan are heavily drilled and equipped. This race pays 250% of baseline for most of its military units. Dwarven engineering teams are an exception— these can assemble and deploy rapidly. Dwarves are dedicated fighters specializing in heavy infantry. Their pinnacle fighting units, the Hammerhands, simply advance forward to enemy lines and smash whatever they find there. These are often supported in high-stakes situations by the Golem, a similarly mindless, fist-swinging war machine in extra-heavy armor casing. The race does not use mounted units, and their one ranged unit, the Steam Cannon, is an expensive tactical device reserved for airborne foes and battles at enemy citadels. Army List Below is a comparative list of all Dwarf normal units. This list shows all units at their first , with no additional modifiers or magical effects. Force Composition The Dwarf army is dominated by plodding, -laden infantry at all stages: namely, Dwarf Swordsmen, Dwarf Halberdiers, and Hammerhands. Two specialized, war machines, the Golem and Steam Cannon, may be able to handle certain foes which would give infantry trouble, but they are too expensive to deploy willy-nilly. Dwarven wealth enables a Wizard to assemble and maintain a massive army, if he wishes, and perform lots of combat spellcasting. Dwarf Settlers Dwarf Settlers are very hardy. If dragged into combat, their extremely-increased and very high make them difficult to destroy, and may buy you enough time to kill their attackers with spells and/or other units. Of course, Dwarf Settlers are still rubbish as a combat unit, and cannot contribute to a battle. Dwarf Settlers cost 2.5 times as much as the baseline Settlers template, but Dwarves are already so rich and productive to begin with that the player feels much less pain than usual from hammering out or rush-buying these units. Dwarf Settlements :Dwarf Settlers are likely to be a common build order for Dwarven towns. Few races can net a Wizard so much, and none so quickly, as the Dwarves from widespread, peaceful expansion. :Place new Dwarf settlements in range of as many special mineral resources and production-boosting tiles as possible. Maximum population is unimportant; the Granary and Farmers' Market can support 5 workers even in completely mountainous terrain, and in any case, special mineral bonuses run at full strength no matter the town's size. Dwarves can build roads quickly enough that waterways may also be unnecessary, particularly in small towns. Unrest can also become problematic in large Dwarf cities, making them inefficient considering how long it takes this race to grow, whereas again, small towns can keep their populations content with a couple simple buildings or a small garrison. :If there are lots of desirable minerals on Myrror and/or the game otherwise calls, in some way, for rapid dwarven expansion, then establishing a "housing colony," a small town in somewhat-fertile terrain that sticks to Housing and incrementally rush-buys Settlers, may be a useful trick. Dwarf Engineers Dwarf Engineers are essentially the best Engineers available in the game, for one important reason: they take half as long to complete any Road section compared to other Engineers. With sufficient numbers, they can quickly create an entire network of Roads throughout the empire, regardless of Terrain. Dwarf Engineers are also extremely to magic, and can take a lot of damage thanks to very high per figure. They'll last longer in combat, but are still not very powerful on the attack. Dwarf Engineers do not cost more to create than other Engineers, which is terrific because Dwarves have higher output. This means that it is possible to create large groups of Dwarf Engineers very early on. Finally, Dwarf Engineers possess the Mountaineer ability, which theoretically should speed up their movement through Mountains and Hills. In practice however, this ability requires either a Forester to accompany the unit, or an Endurance Spell, due to their speed of . Dwarf Swordsmen Dwarf empires begin the game with 2 Dwarf Swordsmen units, since they have no Spearmen units whatsoever. In lieu of Spearmen, Dwarf Swordsmen will form the basis of their armies and garrison forces. Fortunately, though 2.5 times more expensive to produce than "baseline" Swordsmen, Dwarf Swordsmen have a lower Upkeep Cost, requiring only per turn to maintain! This makes them as cheap to maintain as the common Spearmen, and allows a Dwarf empire to keep many Dwarf Swordsmen without issue. Dwarf Swordsmen are thus rarely replaced entirely by Halberdiers, as would happen in other empires, and dwarf Towns are better protected by the presence of these strong units (instead of cheap and weak Spearmen as happens in other empires). The Dwarf Swordsmen's primary advantage is their high per figure, which allows them to stay in good shape even during heavy combat. They aren't stronger than other Swordsmen, but have more time to make repeated attacks and possibly win through sheer attrition. Dwarf Swordsmen also possess a very high score, which makes them very hard to affect with enemy spells and Special Attacks. Dwarf Swordsmen also possess the Mountaineer ability, which should allow them and their entire stack to move quickly through Mountains, Hills and Volcanoes - but this normally has no effect due to their slow default movement speed. Dwarf Halberdiers The Dwarf Halberdiers' primary advantage is their high per figure, which allows them to stay in good shape even during heavy combat. They aren't stronger than other Halberdiers, but have more time to make repeated attacks and possibly win through sheer attrition. Dwarf Halberdiers also possess a very high score, which makes them very hard to affect with enemy spells and Special Attacks. Dwarf Halberdiers also possess the Mountaineer ability, which should allow them and their entire stack to move quickly through Mountains, Hills and Volcanoes - but this normally has no effect due to their slow default movement speed. Dwarf Halberdiers cost 2.5 times more to produce than the "baseline" Halberdiers template. Fortunately, Dwarves also have somewhat-higher rates than other races, though not enough to balance out this high cost. Still, Dwarf Halberdiers can be expected to survive longer, thus justifying the increased costs. Note also that Dwarf Halberdiers have a higher Upkeep Cost than other Halberdiers. Hammerhands Hammerhands are unique to the Dwarf race, and may only be created at a Dwarf town, for the Construction Cost of . The town must already contain a Fighters' Guild for this to be possible. Hammerhands are quite possibly the strongest Normal Unit in terms of sheer offensive strength. Though each Hammerhand's attack strength is not too impressive on its own, all attacking in unison can overwhelm and destroy low-tier and even mid-tier Fantastic Creatures with ease. Hammerhands are also significantly healthier than any other Dwarves and are incredibly Resistant to ill magic. Hammerhands can also cross all mountainous terrain as easily as other units cross Grasslands, but they struggle when crossing Grasslands. Hammerhands will almost always have at least one Experience Level by default ("Regular"). This makes them even stronger than described above, and they'll just keep getting stronger as more and more Experience is accumulated. Hammerhands require an Upkeep Cost of and to maintain. Golem The Golem is unique to the Dwarf race, and may only be created at a Dwarf town, for the Construction Cost of . The town must already contain an Armorers' Guild for this to be possible. The Golem is a strong creature, valued for its heavy punch. It is used primarily for killing single, heavily-armored targets, such as well-equipped Heroes and Fantastic Units. It will normally accompany Hammerhands and assist them in taking out such strong targets. The Golem is constructed for durability, with a very high score and plenty of Hit Points, but its most unique quality is Resistance - it has the highest Resistance score of any unit, rendering it completely immune to all Curses and a wide variety of Special Attacks. Even if the Golem's Resistance score is reduced, it is still completely immune to Poison Damage and to the majority of magic. Golems will almost always have at least one Experience Level by default ("Regular"). This makes them a little stronger than described above, and they'll just keep getting stronger as more and more Experience is accumulated. Golems require an Upkeep Cost of and to maintain. Steam Cannon The Steam Cannon is unique to the Dwarf race, and may only be created at a Dwarf town, for the Construction Cost of . The town must already contain a Miners' Guild for this to be possible. The Steam Cannon is an upgraded version of the Catapult, though there are several differences between the two units. It has a strong Ranged Attack that is effective against virtually any target - even well-armored ones - but won't cause too much damage overall. Sadly, it is much more expensive than a Catapult and lacks the Catapult's Long Range and Wall Crusher abilities, but makes up for this by being available much earlier than any Catapult, and by being highly-Resistant to magic. Like other Dwarf units, the Steam Cannon can also cross all mountainous terrain as easily as other units cross Grasslands, but it struggles when crossing Grasslands. Steam Cannons require an Upkeep Cost of and to maintain. Trireme The Trireme is a Ship which can transport up to 2 units across bodies of water, and can travel at a fairly good rate. Early in the game, Triremes can help empires expand rapidly across short continental gaps or large inland seas. This is very important for Dwarven empires, particularly when looking for suitable races to conquer before the mid-game phase occurs. Triremes are not very effective in combat. If one is lost, any units it was transporting at the time will sink with it, so it is important to avoid combat. Try not to rely on these for long trans-oceanic journeys. Citizens All Dwarven Towns contain Dwarven citizens, shown thus in the three divisions of labor common to all townsfolk: : Dwarf Farmer. : Dwarf Worker. : Dwarf Rebel. As Master of Magic's premier economic race from the get-go, Dwarven citizens have a large set of front-end advantages the governing Wizard should be aware of. Mineral Bonuses : Dwarves double any bonuses received from mineral deposits in their town's catchment area. The chart below summarizes the increased rewards conferred by minerals under Dwarven control, and demonstrates how a dwarven Miners' Guild takes effect on top of their higher base. : :* Each Iron and Coal deposit discounts the of Normal Units in the town by the given amount, to an aggregated maximum of 50%, or half-price. Taxed Gold : Dwarves are incredibly wealthy, yielding double the empire's Tax Rate in gold with no correspondingly heightened unrest level. Nevertheless, quelling any existing Dwarven unrest is hampered by their stubborn racism and inability to construct anything higher than a Temple. What's more, it needs to be a fairly high priority considering the huge productivity of this race when it is content. Consider any of the following moves to get the most out of your Dwarves: :: Citizen Productivity :Dwarven Workers produce base , and although they do not build Mechanicians' Guilds (which are already considered incorporated as a racial tradition), the Sawmill, Foresters' Guild, Miners' Guild, and Inspiration all, once again, take effect on top of this higher base. :On the other hand, Dwarven Farmers only produce the normal and , and because Dwarves cannot build Animists' Guilds, they will lag behind most other races' farmers by the mid-stage of the game. Consider claiming not only minerals but a Wild Game Special for Dwarves as well in a military production city, to permit a larger allocation of Dwarven Workers. :Dwarf initial and end-stage productivity is compared below, taking into account the extent of productivity-enhancing Town Buildings available to this race, and assuming a Tax Rate of for comparative purposes. : The Building Chart The chart below shows all Town Buildings that can be constructed in Dwarven towns, as well as the buildings that cannot be constructed. It also shows the requirements to construct each building. Interracial Relations Dwarves are insular and bigoted, caring nothing for what goes on beyond their strongholds and favoring Dwarven interests in all disputes. They can only form strong partnerships with the Halflings, High Men, and Nomads on Arcanus. They loath Elves, Orcs, and Trolls. While a Wizard's Fortress is inside a town belonging to Halflings, High Men, Nomads, and fellow Dwarves, the Dwarven towns belonging to this Wizard feel no racial antagonism toward his government, and accordingly suffer no adverse effect to their Unrest levels. Similarly, these races will suffer no additional unrest under a Dwarven government. The level of Unrest in any such towns is based only on the current Tax Rate and other external factors. Dwarves have absolutely no interest in governing the other Myrran races; likewise, a captured Dwarf town will put up stiff ongoing resistance against invaders. The table below breaks down all race relations regarding Dwarven empires. The same values are used for Dwarven towns controlled by empires of different races. If you possess the Move Fortress spell, or come into a situation where you are allowed to relocate your Fortress at will, this can be useful where any Myrran race is concerned, including Dwarves, due to these races' tendency to have mortal enemies. When choosing a capital, consider the empire-wide population distribution, but also remember that non-rebellious Dwarves are, point-for-point, the most effective citizens on either plane. Settling a friendly Arcanian race on Myrror to host the Fortress, to mitigate tensions while preserving the greater of a Myrran Fortress, is not unheard-of. Complementary Magic Category:Races Category:Myrran Races Category:Dwarves